From WATTAgNet:
It may be up to state regulators to decide the fate of Perdue AgriBusiness’ proposed soybean plant in Hellam Township, Pennsylvania.
The new township board that will take office in January 2016 said it will stop spending money fighting Perdue, and also said it wants to be more friendly to agriculture than the current board.
Perdue proposed building a $60 million soybean processor a few years ago, but some residents have expressed fears that hexane, a solvent used to extract soybean oil, will be emitted from the plant and cause adverse health effects. Many farmers in the area support the plant because it will fill the need for soybean processing in Pennsylvania and potentially increase the local soybean basis.
Another fight
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records has begun a review of the 2012 agreement between Hellam Township and two opponents of the proposed plant because the confidential agreement may be against the state’s Right-To-Know Law.
Hellam Township has cited the agreement in refusing to turn over documents and correspondence sought by Perdue AgriBusiness.
According to a report, Perdue is asking the Office of Open Records to compel Hellam to release more records. Perdue has said it is seeking documents from Hellam to prepare its case if the state approves an air-quality permit needed to build the plant and Hellam appeals the decision. Perdue recently said such an appeal was “likely.”
Voters Turn Out Officials Opposed to Soy Plant
A Pennsylvania municipality’s fraught response to a proposed soybean plant may now be at an end. On Tuesday, Hellam Township residents in York County voted out two incumbent supervisors who have spent $21,000 in public money to oppose parts of a soybean processing plant that Perdue AgriBusiness wants to build in Conoy Township, Lancaster County.
Agreement between two opponents of proposed Perdue soybean plant leads to dispute over open records
Buy Now SUZETTE WENGER | Staff Photographer In this 2004 aerial photo, the proposed Perdue soybean-processing plant would be built to the left of the county waste-to-energy incinerator in Conoy Township. K. SCOTT KREIDER | Staff Photographer Hellam Township Supervisors Chairman Mike Martin. …
